Not content with surveying the barbecue restaurants in our immediate area, the BBQ Brawl team has taken it upon themselves to see what quality 'cue restaurants reside in Berks, Lancaster and York counties. Our first stop was Johnny & Hon's Smokehouse in Robesonia. Want to suggest a stop for us? Fire away in the comments section!

It all started with hot dogs and hamburgers.

That was 15 years ago, when Joe and Carol Nemic bought Johnny & Hon's, a small restaurant in downtown Reading known for it's frankfurters.

But the Nemics had big plans and visions of barbecue in their heads. Today, they've expanded the Johnny & Hon's franchise to two other locations: The Roby House, a bar and grill in downtown Robesonia, and Johnny & Hon's Smokehouse, located at 924 W. Penn Ave. in Robesonia.

Though it's only been open for three years, the Smokehouse is clearly the Nemic's crown jewel in their crown, at least to hear chef and manager Daryl Dissinger tell it.

For one thing, the expansive site, located along a sleepy patch of Route 422, includes a large pavilion that seats more than 150 people and features live music on Friday and Saturday nights and Sunday afternoons all year long.

"We do a ton of fund-raisers," Dissinger said, not to mention corporate and catered events. In fact, he expects nearly 500 members of a local motorcycle club to stop by this weekend.

They also hold car cruise-ins every third Thursday of the month. And they hope to turn the outdoor dining area into a deck, complete with a grill to cook steaks and ribs next to the hungry clientele.

"We want to be involved in the community," Dissinger said.

Dissinger has only been working at the Smokehaus for nine months, but already his cooking has made an imprint on the restaurant and he says he's noticed an uptick in business.

The wide-ranging menu includes everything from traditional BBQ fare - ribs, pulled pork and brisket - to pizza, steaks, salads and more. An extensive beer menu features 33 beers on tap and there's a lengthy list of craft bottles that changes weekly.

A large, 15-foot smoker out back cooks just about every meat-themed item on the menu from wings and beyond. Dissinger said the plan is to build a pontoon boat for the smoker and float it on the retention pond.

In addition to the traditional fare, Dissinger makes a number of signature items frequent patrons know to ask for. Perhaps the most notable is the including the Big A** Cheesesteak, a 20-inch sub with sliced brisket, cheese sauce, mushrooms and onions. Dissinger said they can sell 50 of those on a good weekend, though more diet minded patrons can stick to a salad with gluten-free dressing.

But the most noteworthy item at the Smokehaus is the sauces. The restaurant features five variations made on the premises: Original, Apple, Southwestern, Garlic, Mild and XXX (that's the extra hot version). Dissinger also makes specialty sauces during the week. (He recently tried his hand at a "pierogi lasagna" sauce).

Overall, Dissinger said both he and the Nemics are pleased with the reception the Smokehaus has gotten in Berks County.

It's great to join the BBQ Brawl judges as they hit the road to explore great BBQ beyond the central PA area. Our visit to Johnny & Hons Smokehaus was a treat for me as I remember back when they first opened and saw the 15-foot long, custom-built smoker that they had prominently installed right in front of their location. (It's now been moved out back to reduce smoking out the patrons who frequent their outdoor patio)

Today I was not disappointed as they still put that big boy to work smoking ribs, chicken wings and brisket (and we were told prime rib on weekends) for the hungry crowds that roll in here.

There is something about smoked wings that set them apart from you typical bar wing. That hint of smoke made these special. They also served up a very tasty rack of ribs for the judges to sample. They were meaty and had a slight "tug" to remove the meat from the bone.. which in my opinion makes for the perfect rib. Creativity with homemade sauce options also impressed my fellow judges.

I would have preferred a bit more smoke/bark on the brisket, but when it was paired with their homemade horseradish sauce it made my mouth sing.

This place seems like a great place for a party. It has a banquet hall with a ton of beer
taps, and lots of beer. Top that off
with nice décor and even an outdoor dinning area and you have a great place to
hang out with your friend or your family.

The thing is, what stood out MOST about the food, was the
sauces! The meat was good, but not the
best we have had. However, these were the
best sauces we have had so far in or beyond the brawl.

The two best were; the original BBQ, and the garlic
BBQ.

The original is a sweet BBQ with just enough smoke in the
aftertaste to let it know it's there.
This worked on the ribs, the wings, the brisket and the pulled
pork. The Garlic BBQ had a sweet flavor
with the great taste of roasted garlic in the sauce. This was my favorite and I think the favorite
of our group. We literally used two
samples of this on our food.

My favorite things there was the Big A** Cheesesteak. It was brisket, onions, mushrooms
and cheese sauce. It is 15-inches long
and can server four people at only 15.95!
Very delicious and can feed a family.

If you are in the area and hungry for some BBQ, sauce or a
giant cheesesteak. This is a great stop
to make.

Hi there, I am Benjamin Smith one of the co-owners of Torchbearer Sauces. I was suckered into coming along today to Smokehouse today and I got to say I really liked it. I had a few issues with it, but I left happy.

As a Sauce Crafter I need to point out I was really impressed with their selection of sauces. It is a good sign when a restaurant makes a few good sauces. They had Original, Apple, Southwest, Garlic, Mild Buffalo and XXX hot. The original has everything I look for in a good BBQ sauce _ sweet, tangy and enough smoke flavor to know it is there. The Garlic was a fantastic blend of roasted garlic and their original.

The foods we had held up to the sauces. They do wings there at least 2 ways, smoked, fried and sauced (with your choice of sauce), and smoked. The ribs for me weren't up to my liking flavor wise, but they were expertly cooked. And the sauces made up for the flavor of the meat. The real stand out though was the Big A** Cheesesteak. It's not on the menu but is big enough to feed four people for 15.95. It is something you have to have.

Okay, I have to say my two issues to be fair. My first issue was the brisket, even though it was beefy and delicious, it didn't have enough smoke flavor. Granted they explained to me that their customer base prefers it this way, so they have good reasons for doing this. And some of the sauces were very similar to the original, not necessarily a bad thing, but they did not really distinguish themselves from the original.

That being said, I left there with sticky fingers and a full, happy belly.

Chris "Ribs" Mautner

As fantastic as most of the stops were along our BBQ Brawl tour, one thing they didn't excel in was sauces. I heartily recommend getting the wings with the homemade garlic sauce, easily our favorite of the five sauces (though the original is quite good as well).

The brisket, while lacking in smoke and bark, tasted great when combined with Dissinger's homemade horseradish sauce. It gave the meat a tang and sharpness that was quite enjoyable.

If you're traveling with a large group, I definitely recommend ordering the Big A** Cheesesteak. The heart-attack inducing but delicious concoction that we all agreed was one of the best things we tasted at here.

If you're traveling through Berks County and looking for a good place to stop for lunch or dinner, I'd definitely recommend checking the Smokehaus out.

We'll be heading to Lancaster County next for our tour of outlying BBQ restaurants. Is there a place you'd like to recommend? Where would you like to see us visit? Let us know in the comments section below!